Hugs are a very nice way of expressing so many emotions through 1 simple act. There are soothing hugs, hugs of relief, hugs of joy etc. I had a friend who gave the best hugs, especially in times of sorrow. I miss her friendship and of all the little things about her, I miss her comforting hugs the most. She inspired the last paragraph of this chapter.
Never lose hope, my dear heart.
Miracles dwell in the Invisible.
Pepper stood on the low wall, trying to see what was happening at the village's entrance. The women and children of the town, were all at a safe distance from the village, hiding in the thick forest. Magdalene was fussing over them, handing out blankets and bread. No one was injured, they were just a little jittery from being locked up. The children had recovered quickly, the older ones already running around and playing.
There was no sign of Happy. She couldn't hear any more wine bombs, so maybe he had run out. She worried her lip between her teeth. Magdalene had this covered. She needed to see what Happy was up to.
She ran back to the town center, entered the building and cautiously, walked on to the town square. It was deserted.
All the horsemen seem to be at the main entrance. What are they doing to Tony?
Then she noticed Happy, peering at her from the stable.
"Psssst... Pssst... Pepper, come here."
She ran quietly to the stable door, he opened it and let her in.
She found herself surrounded by at least thirty men of all shapes, sizes and ages, standing in the stalls. They looked at her suspiciously.
Happy said indignantly, "Lads, this is the plucky female who saved our sorry behinds by giving me the wine bombs."
Pepper interjected, "She also freed all the women and children and they are safely hiding in the forest."
The men whooped at that and Happy let out a huge sign of relief. Pepper shushed them quickly.
"What are you all doing hiding in here? There's work to be done! Let's go."
The men stared at her askance.
Happy cleared his throat and said sheepishly "We are waiting for the Iron Knight to chase off those damn horsemen. Once the coast is clear, we will come out."
Pepper stared at him incredulously. "You mean to tell me, you grown men are hiding out here, away from the battle, waiting for the Iron Knight to do all the dirty work?! The entire garrison of horsemen is at the village's entrance, with that accursed captain of theirs. The Iron Knight cannot take them all on and survive!"
"Why not?" "He's not human, he is... let him take care of those pissants!" "Let's wait for the horsemen to leave." The mob started to talk all at once and Pepper saw red.
She yelled "Shut it, all of you, right now!"
That silenced them. Happy helped by making shushing noises and gesturing towards Pepper with his eyes.
Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to reason with them.
"I... I cannot talk about the Iron Knight. But he came here out of his own volition to help you out. He's right now facing all the horsemen and their Captain, alone. He needs our help. Whether spirit or human, he came to your aid and you owe him."
Still no one moved.
With a sinking heart, Pepper realized she wasn't going to get any help from these people.
These people are too cowardly to face the horsemen. They are content to let the Iron Knight die fighting. The odds are impossible.
I can't even tell him to run away. Tony, oh God, Tony, how are you going to survive this?
She blinked away the sudden tears and squared her shoulders. "Fine. Hide here like the ungrateful, cowardly fools you are. I am going to help the Knight. He saved my life twice and I want to return the favor."
As she turned, Happy said haltingly, "Pepper, it is impossible to win. You will die. Don't go."
She looked straight at Happy and said "If we all fight at his side, they can be defeated. If we fight together... And since you don't want to, I am going. To die by his side, would be a noble way to die."
X-X-X
Jarvis started firing arrows rapidly, trying to hit as many horsemen as possible.
Tigliath seemingly chose the right side of the formation, so Tony grimly faced the Captain and the left side.
He closed his eyes briefly, concentrating hard.
Noble Ryunn, bless me with your rage, your flame, your power, your passion. I am but a humble channel. Let your flame flow through me and burn away this pestilence.
He saw the dragon unfurl like a giant, red and blue, scaly, swirl of flesh. Swirling through him. The blue flame began to dance in him.
The dragon whispered, We may fall today but we will go out in a glorious blaze of war, not snuffed out like a tallow candle. Let the flame engulf those who harm the weak, who destroy lives, who wish to harm us.
He felt raw power of light and heat course through his veins. He raised both hands and fired blast after blast of blue fire, at the formation heading towards him. Then he veered to the left and rode straight into the formation, bypassing the Captain. He hacked away with his sword and felt blow after blow bruise him painfully but he didn't care.
He exited the formation and quickly rode up and down, just out of reach from the garrisons's left, trying to see if his efforts had made an impact on their numbers. It had worked... sort of. But there were still too many of them.
Then he heard the loud clanging noise of metal being hit, coming from behind him and he half turned.
The village's men were behind him, swords, picks, hoes and spades raised. They were led by a stocky man and a slight figure in chain mail with a satchel.
Pepper. You came back for me.
The pure joy of seeing her behind him, seemed to ignite the dragon and him with new passion. Tony suddenly felt invincible. He roared, raised both hands and let out a powerful blast. The crowd behind him, gasped at the sight. Pepper yelled "Charge!" The villagers charged towards the garrison.
The horsemen were overrun by villagers, who finally seemed to outnumber them.
Tony headed straight for the Captain. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Pepper call Tigliath off the battlefield.
Tony charged at the Captain, sword raised. The Captain raised his lance and Tony swerved, avoiding the chest blow. The powerful lance glanced off his shoulder. It hurt, even through the armor but Tony gritted his teeth and stabbed at the Captain with force.
He dodged the blow and swung the lance sideways, striking Tony. Tony fell off Balthazar but quickly stumbled to his feet.
He raised his arm and blasted the Captain. The Captain's horse reared. Then through the flames, Tony saw the Captain leap at him, eyes glowing, lance pointed straight at him. He moved to the left, very narrowly avoiding the lance, feeling it scrape his helmet as it moved.
As the Captain fell forward, Tony swung his sword at his back, cutting him badly. As the Captain tried to stagger to his knees, Tony stabbed him in the stomach. The man or whatever he was, still grinned evilly and whispered "You are everything the Orb said and more. My master will be so pleased. Lord Stark, you have been judged." Then he fell over, dead.
For a moment, Tony was stunned. What... What was that? His master? Orb? What?
He looked around. Most of the horsemen were dead. The few that survived, were riding hard towards the hills, fleeing for their lives. The villagers were hammering some hapless stragglers.
Time to leave, Anthony said the dragon firmly.
Tony whistled and Balthazar came over. He checked him quickly for any injuries and found none. He whistled louder again. He was immensely relieved when Tigliath padded over to him. He passed his hands over the cat's furry belly and legs, noting some cuts but nothing major. Tigliath seemed fine and licked his hand soothingly.
Then Tony realized he had an avid audience. The villagers had gathered around and were staring at him in wonder. They wouldn't approach him, he was confident of that.
He heard and then saw Pepper move rapidly through the crowd and then run towards him. She came to a grinding halt close in front of him. He was slightly disappointed she didn't embrace him but then he told himself, she can't do that in front of the villagers. She smiled at him tiredly, relief clear in her blue eyes.
He whispered "We need to make a move. We can come back later, when I am Lord Stark."
She nodded and mounted Balthazar. He mounted after her and was going to turn his horse, when Happy broke through the crowd.
He raised his fist and yelled "Huzzah for the Iron Knight for saving us!"
The villagers did the same, yelling hoarsely.
Tony raised a hand in acknowledgment.
Happy continued, " and Huzzah for Lady Pepper who saved our womanfolk!"
Again the villagers echoed the sentiment with gusto.
Pepper blushed with pleasure and murmured her thanks.
The villagers watched them ride away, still cheering loudly.
X-X-X
At the Keep, between the poultices and armor removal and tending to Tigliath's cuts and Magdalene's fussing, Tony and Pepper did not get a chance to talk. Evening came because the battle had raged throughout the night and through the morning. Pepper entered Tony's room.
He was sitting on a stool by the fireplace, pressing a warm poultice to his gashed shoulder. He smiled warmly at her. She smiled back at him, then saw his helmet on the bed. She picked it up and with a slender finger, traced the deep scratch left by the lance. Her forehead furrowed with worry and she put the helmet down.
Before Tony could say something, Pepper bent slightly and hugged him around his head tightly. He felt her soft hair and face pressed to his. She murmured something intelligible and inhaled deeply. He inhaled deeply as well, filling his lungs with her unique scent. The dragon sighed loudly inside him. He couldn't raise his hands, so he nuzzled her face back. His beard must have tickled her, for she giggled and let him go.
He made a face at her withdrawal and she laughed sweetly. Then she patted his head, just like she would do for Tigliath and turned to leave. As she reached the door, she turned and said quietly, looking at him with moist eyes, "I'm happy you are fine, Tony. I worried about you today, when you faced those horsemen alone. I'm really happy you are fine." She left and he stared at the door in wonder.
